Rinchi
TechInAfrica — Melania Trump, the U.S first lady visited Ghana as her Africa solo tour. It is her first major solo international trip ever since her husband, Donald Trump became president.
She arrived in Ghana on Tuesday morning. On her visit, she came to see babies being weighed and given blankets and teddy bears donated by the White House at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital. She then also paid a visit to the presidential palace for having a private tea with Rebecca Akufo-Addo, Ghana’s first lady.
A source from the White House says that the U.S first lady will also pay a visit to Malawi, Kenya, and Egypt. The visit will “focus on maternal and newborn care in hospitals, education for children, the deep culture and history are woven into each African country, and how the United States is supporting each country on its journey to self-reliance.”
The visit is an implementation of Melania Trump’s ‘Be Best’ campaign that was launched in the early year of 2018 where it focuses on child welfare.
The Africa Program Director of Center for Strategic and International Studies, Judd Devermont says that the U.S first lady went on the trip half-heartedly. It seems unfair since that is not what a first lady’s trip should be about. His statement referred to Donald Trump’s actions and words that caused the U.S first lady took her visit to Africa.
The Senior Africa Policy Analyst of Heritage Foundation, Joshua Meservey, however, has the opposite opinion. He believes that President Trump’s behavior does not affect the first lady’s visit to Africa.
“I think the U.S.-Africa relationship is much bigger than the president’s comments, and it’s been going on for decades and decades. Frankly, I suspect the vast majority of average Africans have not heard of any of those dust-ups. It’s very much an elite preoccupation.” States Meservey.
According to fiscal 2015, USAID and The U.S Department of State provided approximately $8 billion in assistance to 47 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. The USAID programs in Africa were cut significantly in the Trump administration’s purposed budget. Unfortunately, the Congress have blocked them.
The first lady’s visit to Africa is not something new since the other first ladies have also done the same including Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama. The first ladies have travelled to Africa fairly often.
